After months of negotiations with the Chinese authorities Jet Airways is gearing up to launch its first transpacific service on May 5.(See online news, February 13.)
Jet Airways will operate a single daily flight by B777-300ER on this commercially important route connecting India with the US west coast via mainland China. It will open up an entirely new market for this privately owned Indian airline. Until now no Indian carrier has ever crossed the Pacific.
Jet Airways will join United in being one of only two carriers with the rights to fly non-stop between China’s business hub of Shanghai and San Francisco. It’s a potential money-spinner for any airline.
Rivals like Korean Air or Cathay Pacific can offer only indirect and time-consuming routings via Seoul or Hong Kong. On the Mumbai to Shanghai sector, Jet Airways will be competing with Air India. Neither Mumbai-Shanghai nor Shanghai-San Francisco is served by a Chinese carrier.
Jet’s flight 9W210 will depart Mumbai at 1115 and arrive six hours later in Shanghai at 1945. After a two-hour layover, the flight continues to the US leaving Shanghai at 2145, arriving in San Francisco (after crossing the date line) at 1815 the same day. Transpacific flight-time is 11 hours and 30 minutes.
Return service 9W209 departs San Francisco at 2045 to arrive in Shanghai two days later at 0130. Flight time is 13 hours, 45 minutes. It continues at 0330 to arrive in Mumbai at 0820 after a flight of seven hours and 20 minutes. The timings at Mumbai are particularly convenient for those passengers making domestic connections.
The B777-300ERs are relatively new aircraft and are fitted with Jet Airways’ new premium seating in first and business class. (See online news, April 19, 2007.)
For more information go to jetairways.com.
Report by Alex McWhirter
